While Parkinson’s disease is more common in older adults, it can affect younger people as well. Parkinson’s is a far more complex disorder, and its association with age, genetics, and environment reveals a broader picture. Let’s examine the evidence on whether younger people can develop Parkinson’s symptoms.
About Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects up to two million individuals in the USA, the overwhelming majority of whom are aged 60 and older. It affects the brain’s ability to produce dopamine, the chemical that helps us control movement. Parkinson’s disease symptoms include shuffling gait, limb tremor, stiffness, slowness, and postural instability. These symptoms can be accompanied by autonomic nervous system dysfunction, dementia, depression, and psychosis.
Parkinson’s is a progressive condition, which means the symptoms appear gradually and slowly get worse, as over time, the damage increasingly occurs in the brain. While some symptoms of the advanced stage may increase vulnerability to infection, for most patients, the neurological condition will not significantly reduce life expectancy. In the early stage of the disease, your face may show little or no expression. You will find that your arms do not swing while walking. Your speech may become slurred. Although there is no cure for this disease, medicines may help relieve symptoms. Sometimes healthcare specialists may recommend surgery to help control parts of the brain. The surgery may help reduce some symptoms. In Parkinson’s disease, neurons, the nerve cells in the brain, slowly break down or die. Many Parkinson’s disease symptoms are caused by a loss of neurons that release dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain. A decline in dopamine levels leads to irregular brain activity, causing movement problems and other symptoms of the disease. People who have Parkinson’s disease also lack norepinephrine, a chemical that controls many body functions, such as blood pressure.
Risk factors for Parkinson’s disease include age increasing after 60 years, being a male(as men are more susceptible to the condition), a family history, as well as exposure to certain environmental toxins (herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metals).
Why is Parkinson’s considered an old-age disease?
Parkinson’s disease is an age-related disease that affects 1 to 2% of individuals aged 60 years and older. As age increases, the risk rises steadily, and the ageing brain undergoes degeneration, leading to decreased ability to repair damaged cells, increased oxidative stress, and changes in protein handling. These changes cause loss of dopamine-producing neurons. Moreover, harmful proteins such as alpha-synuclein, an important agent in Parkinson’s disease, tend to accumulate more readily as the brain ages. With age, these proteins form lumps known as Lewy bodies, which disrupt normal brain function. Because these changes can take years to develop, symptoms often emerge later in life. These statistics show that the majority of patients are aged more than 60, causing people to believe that Parkinson’s is exclusive to older adults. But the data does not tell the real story. Can young people get parkinson’s disease? Let’s find out in the next section.
At what age does parkinson’s disease start?
Parkinson’s disease can happen in younger adults. Early onset of the disease can happen in people under 50 years of age, and in rare cases, it can be diagnosed in people as young as 20 years. Parkinson’s affects younger people, and when the symptoms appear before the age of 50, the condition is referred to as young-onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD). Young-onset Parkinson’s disease accounts for 5-10% of all Parkinson’s disease. It may appear more common among older patients, but this is enough to dispel the notion that the disease occurs only in older people. The symptoms are often the same in young-onset Parkinson’s disease as seen in older patients. But there is a chance the disease may progress differently. Younger people often experience muscle stiffness, slowed movement, dystonia (involuntary muscle contractions), and tremors, which are less noticeable in young-onset Parkinson’s disease at first. There is a risk of medication-related side effects, such as involuntary movements, during the initial stage of treatment.
Ages affected by Parkinson’s disease include over age 60, with an average onset around 65 to 70. As risk increases with age, about 5-10% of cases are diagnosed before age 50.
What role does genetics play in young-onset Parkinson’s disease?
Genetics is one key reason behind young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Majorly, Parkinson’s disease is considered idiopathic, and genetic factors play an important role in early- and young-onset Parkinson’s disease.
Research has shown that mutations in certain genes, such as PARK2 (parkin), PINK1, LRRK2, and SNCA, have been implicated in the initiation of Parkinson’s disease. Sometimes these mutations cause symptoms to appear decades earlier than usual. People having these mutations may develop Parkinson’s in their early ages, even in their 20s, 30s and even in the absence of other risk factors.
But genetic mutation alone cannot guarantee that someone will develop Parkinson’s disease. Lifestyle factors and mutations interact with environmental factors, which can lead to Parkinson’s disease. This shows that various factors influence the disease and its onset.
Challenges in young-onset Parkinson’s disease
The disease affecting young people can impact their lives in various ways, and its results are very profound. Young people are raising families, building careers, and securing their futures. Onset of Parkinson’s destroys everything, interfering with their performance, financial stability, relationships, and mental health. There are delays in the diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson’s disease as physicians may attribute symptoms to stress, anxiety, or any injury. This delay in diagnosis increases distress and anxiety. The social stigma behind the commonly perceived notion of “elderly disease” can make young patients feel isolated and dejected. That’s why mental health issues are common in young-onset Parkinson’s disease.
Reanalysing Parkinson’s disease and age
The misconception that Parkinson’s can only affect older people can be harmful. It delays diagnosis, causing mental health issues and preventing younger patients from seeking help when symptoms first appear. Making people aware that Parkinson’s can affect people of different ages can promote earlier diagnosis, better support systems, and more inclusive research.
Conclusion
Parkinson’s disease is firmly associated with ageing, but it is not limited to older people. While major cases are diagnosed later in life, younger individuals and even individuals in their 20s or 30s can experience the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease due to genetic, environmental, and biological factors. Understanding that disease can affect people of all ages is important for reducing stigma, promoting early diagnosis, and ensuring people of all ages receive appropriate care and support.
Parkinson’s disease can happen to anyone, and it reflects a compound interplay of time, biology,y and situations, making us think that neurological conditions are rarely as simple as they first appear.
